Years Gone By
by SlaughterOtter
Summary: A look at Jack and Jamie's changing relationship with each winter that passes.


**This will eventually become JackxJamie.**

* * *

Jamie is ten years old when he meets Jack Frost, and he suddenly can't remember any of his favorite superheroes because they've all been pushed away by a very real one sitting right in front of him. Jack is tall and cold and Jamie is short and warm, but somehow he thinks that he's found a new best friend. Their time together is short and Jamie's upset that summer is the succeeding season, but he keeps his chin up and his belief strong, because he knows that winter will be there before he knows. Besides, it's his birthday in July.

That June, Jamie graduates from the fifth grade with more friends than ever before. He spends nearly the entire summer outside with them and everything is smiles and fun, until one day the sun rises and it's September. _Finally, _Jamie thinks.

September passes in a blur. Jamie's in a new, bigger school and he's separated from his friends, but when the end of November swings around they share knowing looks in the hallways as kids scream _Santa's not real_ across the corridors. It's not even December first before they get their first snow day.

They all rush outside with their boots on and their scarves tied, but Jack's not there to play with them. A few of them murmur in disappointment, but any negative feelings go away quickly because Jamie starts a snowball fight, but not because he wants to, but because he's sure that if he doesn't he would start to cry.

The sun sets and the fun ends. Jamie eats a quiet dinner of grilled cheese and tomato soup with his mom and sister, too tired and anxious to contribute much to the conversation. Sophie carries out the majority of the talking, but Jamie isn't impressed with her topic of choice: Jack's absence.

Jamie excuses himself and goes upstairs to brush his teeth. He can barely keep his eyes open by the time he opens his bedroom door.

But when the door squeaks open his eyes reconsider and snap open. His room is covered in ice and snow and _is that an ice slide coming off his bed? _Jamie's breath leaves him and he steps hesitantly into his room, not daring to believe it. He tries not to jump out of his skin as a pound of snow falls over his head and into his pajamas.

He looks up and there Jack is, hovering above him with his typical grin in place. He apologizes for being late but promises that he'll make up for it, and Jamie knows that he has no choice but to believe him. After all, there is an ice slide in his room.

Jamie's not tired anymore, but suddenly the sky's growing lighter and Jamie becomes aware that they're not even in his room anymore. Jack laughs from high up in a tree and Jamie's unexpectedly up in the air higher than the trees ten seconds later. _"Time to get you home, kiddo." _Jack says over the wind, but Jamie barely hears him because _"Wow, we're flying, wow!"_

Back in his room, Jamie stares at the melted mess his ice slide has become. Jack chuckles a bit sheepishly before freezing it back into thin, frozen plates. He and Jamie easily peel them up from the ground and toss them outside.

Jamie's mom comes in a minute later to get him up from school. The only proof that Jack was ever there was the icy wind that gusts through the room as his mom slams his window shut, berating Jamie for letting out the cold air. Jamie sleeps through school that day.

Jack visits many more times that winter but by early April he's gone.

On Jamie's twelfth birthday he invites over all of his old friends. They run around and have cake, and after all the presents are opened Jamie suggests they reenact their battle with Pitch. _"That old game?" _Claude scoffs in his face. _"No way!"_ Before Jamie could remind him that it _hadn't been_ a game, he finds that everyone _(everyone!) _agrees with Claude.

_"Wait, so you guys don't believe anymore?" _Jamie asks, too in shock to be horrified. Pippa shrugs and Monty looks away, but Cupcake tells it to him straight. _"We're just a little old to believe in fairytales."_ Jamie goes to bed nearly in tears that night, offended on the behalf of all the Guardians and miserable because he knows that he's lost his friends. He spends the rest of the summer playing with Sophie.

When school restarts, he doesn't see them in the halls anymore. He makes a friend in his math class, but it's more for the convenience of having his help than anything else. They don't speak outside of school.

Christmas comes and goes, and there's still no snow on the ground. Jamie checks the weather reports almost daily. The weatherman promises a burst of flurries that Tuesday, but Jack once told Jamie that the weathermen knew nothing about his habits so Jamie tries his best not to get his hopes up. He does anyways and he's disappointed, but not for long. Jack comes with a full blown blizzard the day after and cancels school for a whole four days.

The first day of the storm keeps everyone inside. The temperature plummets to numbers well below zero and the wind is so strong that several trees are uprooted and flipped over. Miraculously, no one is injured during the storm and the entire city keeps its power. Jamie sits by the window until the sun sets and he can't see anything but the snowflakes closest to the window before he turns in for bed. Jack isn't there waiting for him, but Jamie knows he will see him tomorrow.

The sun's shining bright when Sophie and Jamie finally manage to twist away from their mother. She calls to them reminding them to be careful and Jamie and Sophie nod. It doesn't take long for them to find Jack.

They are at the park where everyone else is, both adults and children. A couple and their baby sled by Jamie, but Jamie hardly notices them because his eyes are only for Jack. He's smiling so wide his cheeks hurt and the spot where he'd recently lost a tooth is visible. He's tugging Sophie along faster than she can walk, but she's too excited to see Jack to care.

They both leap at Jack as soon as he's close enough and become nothing more than a tangled heap in the snow. Jamie's so happy because he'd forgotten what Jack's laugh sounded like, and maybe now that Jack was here his friends would remember and everything would be like old times.

When they make it back to their feet, Jack fills them in on his year and Jamie does the same. Sophie goes next, but she mostly asks about The Easter Bunny to which Jack dryly humors her by telling her a few stories that he knows about Bunny's year. They walk through the park oblivious to all but themselves.

Then Jamie gets hit by a snowball to the upper back. He wildly turns around to see his old friends standing behind him with snowballs in their hands. They ask him to play, maybe because they remember Jamie had always been the most fun to play with in the snow. Jamie's so overwhelmingly excited because Jack is there _and _his friends are too, so he agrees right away.

Snowballs hurtle through the air. Jack's hitting targets with incredible accuracy. Jamie laughs harder than he can remember laughing in the past months, and he manages to nail Caleb, Jack, and Monty in rapid succession. He forgets all about the non-intentional-but-still-hurtful cold shoulders they had given him since his party, and in fact, he forgets everything about that day too. Jamie's having too much fun to live in anything but the present, too much fun to notice the bewildered looks from his friends as he pitches snowballs seemingly at midair.

Jack drops to the ground to gather more ammo and Monty,_ stupid Monty_, trips on his own shoelace and falls right through him. Jamie's smile vanishes as fast as Jack's does, but there is no possible way that Jamie feels the way Jack does.

Jamie looks at Jack with wide eyes and he feels _foolishterribleawful_ for not warning Jack. Jaime's not sure how being a Guardian is, but he's now quite certain that they don't know whether a kid believes in them or not until something like _this _happens.

Jack's in a precarious crouch on the ground with a hand clenched into the front of his sweatshirt and his chest heaves like he's run a mile. His eyes are as wide as Jamie's, but they dart around from child to child, looking into each of their eyes to see if they would make eye contact. Jamie's heart clenches as Jack's face slowly becomes more and more panicked. Finally, his eyes land on Jamie's and Jamie looks back as solid of a gaze he can muster. Jack relaxes ever-so-slightly. Jamie mouths _"I'm sorry,"_ but Jack gives a quick shake of his head to silence him and straightens up, though he's not standing as tall as before. He ghosts over to Jamie and ruffles his hair with a cold breeze. _"I'll stop by later tonight." _he says, but Jamie knows he won't.

Jack's twenty feet up when a fit of laughter overcomes Claude. He's noticed how Jamie's eyes are tracking nothing.

_"Wait," _he gasps. _"Wait, wait, wait. You're not seriously looking at Jack Frost, are you?" _ His shoulders shake with mirth. _"Dude, I know you like fantasy and stuff, but keep it in the video games, man. You can't possibly believe in that stuff anymore."_

Jamie feels the wind die out for a moment, and out of the corner of his eye he sees Jack lose a few feet in altitude. He can feel Jack's eyes boring into him. _"I do believe." _he says, but not at all defensively. It's a simple fact that the Guardians exist.

Claude guffaws harder and everyone else looks uncomfortable. Sophie looks from Jamie to Jack to the group of ex-believers, and Jamie just knows that she's going to saying something, but he can't stay there anymore, so he grabs her hand and they walk away from the clearing. Pippa eyes him sympathetically, but no one says goodbye as he leaves. A strong wind and the beginnings of yet another snowstorm signal Jack's departure.

Jack doesn't come to Jamie's house that night, which doesn't shock Jamie, but he is surprised when Jack knocks on his window the following night. Jamie throws himself out of bed and across the room and pulls the window open before he remembers that his pajama top is a t-shirt. He shivers violently as Jack comes in and picks a sweater up from the floor. He's burrowed back in his warm covers before Jack's fully settled on his desk.

Jack looks awful, with dark circles under his eyes and a general air of unkemptness surrounding him. Jamie doesn't have to wonder where he's been because he's seen it on the news, the massive blizzard that's made its way across the country; it's all that anyone can talk about, really. The loss of his first believers shook him hard.

_"Hi," _Jamie whispers. Jack barely flicks his eyes up from the wooden floor when he gives him a small nod of acknowledgement. He's chewing on the inside of his cheek. Jamie understands that Jack must want to talk, but probably doesn't know how to begin. _"Are you okay?" _he asks, mentally smacking himself. Of course Jack isn't okay, but Jamie doesn't know what else to say. He plows on, wincing at the squeakiness in his voice. _"I'm sorry I didn't warn you before...before... I forgot. I'm really, _really, _sorry! They stopped belie-... I mean, this summer... I tried to remind th-!" _Jack raises a hand and his mouth twists into the semblance of a smile.

_"Hey, hey, don't worry about it, huh?" _ His voice is rough and forcedly cheerful._ "At least you and Sophie still believe."_

_"I'll never stop believing." _Jamie says stubbornly, venturing out of his bed with a comforter wrapped snuggly around him. He hobbles to the desk and grabs Jack's icy hand. _"Why don't you stay here tonight? You look awful, no offense," _he adds as Jack snorts lightly through his nose. _"and I think you could use some company right now." _Jack's looking a little hesitant, so Jamie quickly adds _"And I'll make you pancakes tomorrow, too!"_ and it's done. Jamie pulls out his dad's old sleeping bag that was bought for the promise of a camping trip that never happened, and lays it next to his bed.

Jamie's mom is the one who actually makes the pancakes the next morning, but she's more than happy to provide extra for her children's imaginary friend. As they're eating she makes a note to call the heating company; the house was freezing!

Jack visits at least once a week that winter. He tries to play it off like it's no big deal, _"I was just passing through the area." _Jamie doesn't buy it. Jack doesn't want Jamie to forget him.

The snow and ice begins thaw at the end of March, and by the first week of April winter is gone. Jack gives Jamie an unmelting snowflake as a gift, but mostly as a reminder of him to keep in the summer months. Jamie places it right next to his pencil box on his desk, and gives Jack something in return. It's just a bit of twine Jamie had sitting around, but he quickly loops it around Jack's wrist, and though he presents it as a present, it's really a promise that Jamie _won't _forget. Jack tells him that he'll try to be back in early November, and then with a gust of wind he's gone.

Jamie leaves sixth grade and goes into seventh with an entire thirteen years of living behind him. He's eager for classes to begin because summer had been lonely and November is only two months away. His grades are fantastic _(especially in English)_ and his mom has never been so pleased.

Summer weather drags on all through September, and it's not until October fourteenth that the temperature drops to below seventy. Everyone praises the mild Halloween they get, but Jamie is anxious. November first dawns, balmy sixty degrees, and when Jamie checks the weather he sees that it's not supposed to get below forty-five anywhere in his area of the country. He goes on the old, family computer and looks up the weather in the southern atmosphere. It appears to be having a smooth transition into summer. Jamie clicks the close key and turns the computer off.

November seventeenth gives the town something to talk about in various social encounters for the next week. The temperature, which had been hovering between fifty and sixty-five, plummets to a solid ten degrees overnight. Though there is no snow, Jamie is overjoyed. As soon as the school bell rings, he rushes outside and practically flies to the lake. The water isn't frozen yet, but the ground is frozen solid and his heavy breaths make clouds in the air. He skids to a stop, panting. _"Jack!" _he calls. He doesn't have to wait long for a reply. Within minutes, the lake's frozen to a solid ice-skating rink and a vicious game of hockey is underway. That night, Jack flies Jamie back to his house and after much scolding from his mother, they head to his room and play video games on the new play station Jamie had gotten for his birthday. Jack is terrible at it, seeing as he had never touched a gaming console in his life, so Jamie lets him win a few times out of kindness. Jack stays in Burgess for an entire week, and at the end of that time Jamie doesn't have to let him win anymore.

Jack still has the twine wrapped around his wrist.

Jack comes back at least once every two weeks _(still afraid of being forgotten)_, and when he stops by in January Jamie's in bed, sick with a violent cold.

Through chattering teeth and a clogged nose, Jamie asks if he can come back in a fews days, and Jack accepts but doesn't leave. Instead, he flicks Jamie's new laptop on and, with some difficulty, brings up the internet browser. He picks it up and walks over to Jamie, not wanting to risk calling the winter wind in here.

Jamie shuffles over in his bed and Jack lays next to him, laptop balanced on his gangly legs. _"What do you want to watch?" _he asks. Jamie doesn't hesitate before he says _"Jack Frost." _Jack casts him a bewildered look. _"What?" _

_"Jack Frost!" _Jamie repeats. He pauses to let an intense sneeze go and sniffles. _"It was Pippa's favorite movie when she was little. She told me to watch it, once."_

_"There's a movie about me...?" _Jack wonders briefly before shrugging. _"That's pretty cool, I guess."_

"_Well..._" Jamie starts, remembering some screencaps he's seen from the film. _"It's not really _you _in the movie." _

_"Oh?" _Jack asks. His fingers tap lightly on the keys. _"So what, I write Jack Frost right...here?"_

Jamie bats Jacks hands away and takes the computer from him. _"No," _he manages to say before a coughing fit overtakes him. "_Here." _ He keys in_ jack frost 1979 watch online, _ignoring Google's suggestion of capitalizing Jack's name. He pulls it up and sets it to full screen, settling the laptop back on Jack's legs before snuggling back underneath his blankets with only his face poking out. Jack doesn't protest when he rests his head on his shoulder.

The film begins, and Jack can't control his laughter at the film's depiction of him. _"What?!" _he shrieked. _"I look _nothing _like that!" _Jamie can't help but giggle too. The film progresses, and when it reaches it's end Jamie turns to Jack to ask him his opinion. His smile disappears when he sees Jack's face. Jack's eyebrows are furrowed and his eyes are sad.

_"What's the matter?" _Jamie wants to ask, but another thought suddenly takes him away. It strikes him with full force then, that Jack's _immortal. _Jack's been there since before Jamie's great aunt was born, and would be here _forever._ So, in place of asking Jack his first question, _"How old are you?" _tumbles instead from his lips.

_"About three hundred and twenty one years, give or take." _Jack responds without missing a beat. Jamie splutters for a moment, his brain trying to figure out what year Jack's born in. _"So, what, you were born in the sixteen hundreds?!"_

_"Very late sixteen hundreds." _Jack embellishes. _"I was born before your country even existed, kid." _He offers Jamie a quick grin. _"If you need any help with your history homework, I got your back."_

Jamie sinks back into his comforter, drawing it up over his head. _Three hundred years! _Five years was an incomprehensible long amount of time for Jamie! _"Whoa..."_ he breathes.

Jack chuckles softly and shuts the laptop with a _click. "It's late. I should get going and let _someone _get some sleep." _

The weight next to Jamie disappears, and the next thing he knows is Jack's running a cold hand through his hair. It feel fantastic against his hot head, but the hand withdraws all too quickly. _"I'll be back in a week or so, okay? Get better so we can go have snowball fights again." _Jamie _mhmm_'s in a agreement and buries his head into his pillow. Before Jack's fully out of the window, Jamie feels like he needs to ask him one more thing.

_"Hey, Jack?"_

_"Yeah?" _

_"You haven't fallen in love since you've been around, have you? Like in the movie?"_

Jamie isn't sure if the reason why he doesn't get an answer is because he falls asleep or because Jack leaves.

Jack comes back as promised before leaving for good in mid-April _(Jamie suspects the towns' complaints of a long winter got to him)_ and Jamie leaves seventh grade and turns fourteen. His dad writes him once, asking Jamie if he would like to come live with him in Georgia. Jamie ignores the letter completely and Jamie's mom doesn't do anything to encourage him otherwise.

He hits a massive growth spurt that summer, and by the time he begins eighth grade he's the tallest, most awkward looking kid of them all. His legs are too long and his feet are too big to be coordinated into walking, plus a new feeling of imbalance takes over. Jamie's not even sure where half of the thoughts he has come from, and with no dad around he doesn't know what to do with himself.

Jack returns three days before Christmas with a light dusting of snow. He's surprised at how tall Jamie's gotten, but he doesn't comment on his disproportionate limbs. Jamie can see Jack looking at him sadly when he thinks that Jamie's not paying attention, but Jamie sees it. Jack's afraid of Jamie growing up. Jamie is too, but he's not going to admit that. Jamie reminds him just before he heads to the southern hemisphere that he won't ever stop believing.

It is then, though, that Jamie stops believing that Jack's a superhero. Although he still retains the highest status in Jamie's mind, Jamie has to admit that he has a hard time ignoring that Jack's not as strong as he once thought he was.

Jamie's fifteen. With middle school finished and high school just beginning, Jamie realizes that he's gay. It scares him; he's never wanted anything less. He's disgusted with himself for giving others another reason to avoid him, and he becomes more withdrawn at school. He's known as the shy kid who still believes in fairytales. He just hopes that he won't be labeled as the shy, _gay_ kid who still believes in fairytales anytime soon. He doesn't say a word about it to anyone, not even his mom or Sophie. His mom begins to worry about him. She sees that Jamie's not the vibrant kid he used to be, but she notices that there are some days in winter when he seems like his old self.

In other, more encouraging news, Jamie is beginning to feel like he's growing into his long legs and big feet. There's more people at his new school, and Jamie makes a few new friends. Michael's a year older than him, and Bethany's completely new to the district, but they all have a mutual passion for science-fiction and fantasy. They spend Autumn eating quiet lunches together at school, and have occasional gaming nights at each other's houses. They go trick-or-treating together for Halloween, because hey, it's free candy, and spend the weekend before Thanksgiving hiking in Burgess' surrounding hills. They both leave the state for Thanksgiving to visit family.

Jack shows up Thanksgiving night and Jamie invites him in for dinner. Jack refuses so Jamie insists. A silent battle of the wills takes place, but Jamie eventually wins out with his "puppy eyes" and Jack perches precariously on the empty seat Jamie's mom left open for his dad. Sophie was beside herself, and even Jamie had a hard time not laughing at the secret that he and Sophie shared. Their mom spent the dinner casting confused looks at the both of them, not noticing when bits of food disappeared into seemingly nowhere.

Jack's nice enough to help them clean up when they're finished. Once all of the dishes are done and the leftovers tucked away, Jack says goodnight to Sophie and follows Jamie into his room. Jamie begs to hear about his adventures, but as Jack enthusiastically complies, Jamie has a hard time focusing on his words and not Jack himself. Jamie's always realized that Jack's attractive, but it isn't until now that he sees Jack in a new light. When Jack finally finishes his story, Jamie finds that he hasn't been breathing. Jack's eyes are suddenly inches from his, and Jamie's paralyzed. Then Jack's hand slaps his cheek lightly, and the cold is enough to shock Jamie out of his reverie.

_"Yeah, I'm fine. I just spaced out a bit. No, really!"_

Jack asks him about his spring, summer, and school, and Jamie answers with as much honesty as he can without including the poorer moments nor details of his newly discovered sexuality. He tells Jack about Bethany and Michael instead. This seems to make Jack happy. Jamie thinks that he's almost guilty to a certain degree of being the partial reason of why Jamie's younger friends abandoned him.

Around midnight, they both grow tired of just talking so they hop out of the window and soar into the night. Flying is a rather uncomfortable experience for Jamie. Not only is the wind biting, but also his closeness to Jack was near unbearable.

They don't go to the lake that time. Instead, Jack takes him deeper into the mountains. They find a closed ski hill and within minutes it's covered in snow. Jack fashions sleds out of ice, cheerily proclaiming _"The fastest!" _as he pushes Jamie down the hill.

Jamie's half-frozen by the time he gets home. Jack stays long enough to tuck him into bed.

The next morning, he makes bacon for his mom, Sophie, and himself. He finds himself wrapping up the leftovers and bringing them to the lake. Jamie noticed that Jack had eaten last night's dinner with a barely-disguised fervor. He feels a brief wave of sickness when the idea of Jack starving pops into his mind. Could Jack even get food, being invisible? Sure, Jamie thinks, he could steal it, but would he?

Jamie plops down on a rock and looks into the trees, shielding his eyes with one hand from the beaming sun.

_"Jack,"_ he calls. _"I've got some bac-oomph!"_ A well-placed snowball knocks him flat on his face. Jamie hears Jack's laughter before he sees him. He's still mock-irritably rubbing snow out of his eyes when he feels Jack snatch the bag out of his hands.

_"God, this is so good." _he breathes, stuffing two pieces at once into his mouth. "_My family,"_ He pauses briefly to swallow. "_had a pig once. We called her Pig."_

_"How original."_ Jamie remarks dryly, still rubbing at his freezing wet nose. The comment appears to be lost on Jack.

_"She was delicious, too."_ he says as he grabs another slice. _"My little sister cried really hard when we killed Pig, though." _ He licks the grease off of his fingers, bag empty. _"She stopped as soon as she tried the ham."_

_"Pigs are good."_ Jamie agrees. "_So I'm guessing you'll be wanting more...?"_

_"That would be amazing." _ Jack manages to get out before he sticks his head back in the bag. Jamie's pretty sure he can hear a mumbled "_So goooood" _from inside.

_"Where did you get food before?"_ he couldn't help but ask.

_"Ehh, I don't really need to eat, so I usually never got any, but when I did I stole it." _ His head reappears. _ "It's not something I'm really proud of, but hey, it happened. I tried to take it only from people who wouldn't miss it."_

_"But you weren't starving?"_

_"No, not really."_

_"Not really?"_

_"Well, I can tell when I'm not full, but it doesn't really hurt or anything."_

Jamie hmm's softly, relieved that Jack never starved. From then on, however, Jamie makes sure to always have something to eat whenever Jack's around.

That summer, the Bennetts get new neighbors. They have a son, Owen, who's a year older than Jamie. He has blonde hair and the second bluest eyes that Jamie's ever seen. Two weeks before Jamie's sixteenth birthday, Owen asks him out. Jamie freezes for a moment, because while he likes Owen a lot, he can't help but think about someone with similar eyes. But then Jamie remembers that Jack would probably never see him as anything more than a child, so he says yes. That night, Jamie dresses up and tells his mom he's going out. She looks him up and down and asks _"Who with?" _

_"Owen." _he attempts to say nonchalantly, but his palms sweat, his cheeks blush, and he ends up sounding squeakier than he did as a child.

A look of understanding dawns on his mom's face, and Jamie prays that she won't say anything. _"Alright." _she says, simply.

Behind her, Sophie flashes him a thumbs up.

His date goes surprisingly well. Owen takes him (or rather he takes Owen, since he does know the town better) to an old fifties-style diner where they eat hamburgers and drink chocolate milkshakes. Jamie finds it really easy to talk to Owen. In fact, he thinks he's never been able to talk to anyone this easily except for Jack.

After dinner, Owen slips his hand into Jamie's _(they felt nice, but not quite right)_ and begins to lead him towards the park.

_"There's this really cool place I have to show you." _Owen says. _"I mean, you probably already know about it since you've lived here forever, but I still want to take you there."_

Jamie laughs and tightens his hand around Owen's and allows himself to be led into the park. They're five minutes in when Jamie realizes where they're going.

Jamie doesn't know how to feel, showing up at Jack's lake with another guy. They stop just by the water's edge, gazing up at the moon so high up in the air.

_"It's beautiful, right?" _Owen asks. Jamie nods.

_"You should see it in winter."_

Besides Jamie's mom, Sophie, and a poorly written letter from his dad, Jamie spends his birthday with only Owen. Jamie asks his mom if he could spend the night, but she says she would allow him to stay until eleven. It was better than Jamie was hoping for, so he doesn't complain.

They eat cake and ice-cream, and open presents. Jamie and Owen pass the remainder of the night in front of the television playing a new video game he'd gotten as a gift.

At eleven o'clock, Jamie walks with Owen down his driveway. They stand there, looking at one another a bit awkwardly, before Owen whispers _"Happy birthday." _and kisses Jamie.

Jamie's never kissed anyone before, so the kiss is a horrible mix between wonderful and uncomfortable. But when Owen pulls away he doesn't look upset, so Jamie counts that as a good thing. He watches Owen walk down the road to his house, a faint smile on his face until...

_"Who was that?" _a sour voice interrupts form above. Jamie flinches as if he'd been struck.

_"Jesus, don't scare me like that!" _he says in a whispered yell, his heart going a mile a minute. Up ahead he can see Owen pause and turn back to look at him. Waving his hand, Jamie gave him the biggest smile he could. Owen waves back and continues on.

_"Well?" _Jack repeats. _"Who was that?"_

Of all the ways Jamie would have liked to come out to Jack Frost, this was not it.

_"That," _he says lightly. _"is my boyfriend." _He tries to keep his face neutral, but his hands are clenched tight by his side. This may very well be the last time Jack would even so much as look at him.

_"Oh." _is Jack's terse reply. _"Your _boyfriend._ How nice."_

_"Do you have a problem with that?" _Jamie asks, meaning to sound strong. The words come out as defensive instead. He wants look into Jack's eyes, but he's scared of what he might find. He looks stonily at a tree instead.

_"Only that he's not that good looking." _Jack replies peevishly. _"I came here to ask if you wanted to go to North's, or something, but if you're too busy kissing your _boyfriend..."

Jamie sighs, feeling both relieved and irritated. Jack didn't seem to care that he was gay, but he certainly didn't seem to like Owen too much.

_"So are we going north or not?" _Jamie asks, cutting Jack off in mid-rant.

_"Yeah, yeah, go tell your mom you're sleeping or something." _

Jamie darts back inside and goes through all the motions of going to bed. He leaves the house half an hour later, his arm hooked firmly around Jack's. He makes an effort not to think about how much better Jack's arm feels around his rather than Owen's, but the thoughts continue to tumble around in his head.

_"Why'd you show up?" _he shouts over the roaring wind. _"I mean, you're usually in the south around this time of year." _

_"It's your sixteenth birthday, kid. Wouldn't want to miss it."_

Jamie has a fantastic time at North's _(he's made to promise not to tell Sophie, seeing as she might get jealous) _but something about Jack is off all night. Jamie opts to take a snowglobe home rather than flying after accidentally seeing Jack rip the twine off of his wrist.

Jamie and Owen begin school that Fall as a sophomore and a junior, and surprisingly they're not harassed too much for being the only openly gay couple at school.

Jamie, as usual, looks forward to winter, but this year he wants it to come more quickly than ever. He wants to make things right again with Jack, because he can't shake the feeling that something was wrong the last time he saw him. He wants to introduce Owen to Jack _(but would he even see him?) _and convince Jack that Owen actually is a cool guy. Jamie somehow feels like if he can get the two to be friends, his pent up feelings for Jack would vanish.

Christmas comes as always, and then New Year's, and then Valentine's Day...and then March? There had been no snow all winter. Absolutely none. The temperature rises to the fifties in mid-March, and it's then that Jamie gives up all hope of snow. He felt angry at himself for upsetting Jack _(however he had upset him) _and he felt even more angry at Jack for making him feel like it was _him _that was being the bad guy. Owen and him call it off at the end of April. There are no hard feelings and Jamie becomes somewhat of a recluse again, only hanging out with Michael and Bethany. They had started dating last year too, so their meetings as a trio aren't frequent.

Jamie's really grateful for his sister. He doesn't know what he would do without her.

He doesn't plan much for his seventeenth birthday. It's a quiet affair with his mom and sister (no letter from his dad this year) and he goes to bed early, just ready for the day to be over with. He wakes up to a cold gust of wind. His eyes open quickly and he jackknifes up in his bed to a sitting position. Jack's perched on his desk.

_"You're back." _Jamie whispers, hardly daring to believe it. Jack gives the tiniest of nods.

_"Where...why...? Jack, I don't..." _ He flounders like a fish out of water, until suddenly rage courses through him like a white-hot river. _"Where were y-...!" _

But Jack seems to know where Jamie was steering the conversation, even before Jamie does. He hops onto the foot of Jamie's bed in one quick movement, and presses a cold finger against Jamie's lips. Jamie irritably pushes his finger away.

_"Don't you tell me to be quiet." _he hisses. Jamie's full of self-righteous fury that can only come from being ignored and being made to feel like he'd done something wrong, when really he _hadn't. "Where have you been? I waited all fucking winter for you," _Jack's eyes widen slightly at the curse. _"and now here you are in the middle of fucking _July, _sitting in my room like everything's okay? What, you don't like swear words? Are Guardians like that? Are you too _innocent_ and _pure_ to not swear, but ignoring your friend for a year is just fine?"_

_"Jamie," _Jack starts. _"Jamie, stop." _

Jamie continues on, deaf to Jack's words. Jack slaps a hand over Jamie's mouth.

_"Would you please just listen?" _he begs. _"That's all I ask. You have a right to be angry, but please, hear me out."_

Jamie scowls and shoves Jack's hand away, but nods his consent.

_"I like you, Jamie." _

Through his suddenly numb body, Jamie recalls that Jack had never been one for subtlety. Taking his silence as permission to continue, Jack plows on.

_"And I know...I know it probably doesn't seem like that, since I've left you alone for a year." _Jamie snorts._ "But it's not because I stopped liking you or wanting to hang out with you; I was just confused." _Jamie eyes him skeptically.

_"Do you remember when you asked me if I had ever fallen in love with someone? I don't know if I would have been able to give you a direct answer then, but now I can say that I have. I really, really like you, Jamie. I love you."_

Is there even any air in this room?

_"And if you still want to be angry, that's fine, and if you don't feel the same way back, that's fine, but this past year I've stayed away because I realized that you're _growing _and you're _changing, _and you're doing all sorts of things I can't do. I mean, look at you. You're swearing _ and _you're starting to get a beard, Mr. Five-o'clock-shadow." _

Jamie self consciously scratches at the scruff forming on his chin.

_"But it scares me. It scares me really bad. You're going to grow old, Jamie. I've seen it happen time and time again. You're going to grow old and have your own family, and I'll be stuck here. I...I don't want that to happen. Because I love you. I thought maybe if I left you alone I'd forget about you, but I can't. I won't even be able to forget about you. So then I thought, why should I be alone, then? Even if I can't be with you forever, why can't we be together just for now?" _Jack inhales sharply.

_"Look, I know this is a lot to dump on you at once, and if you want me gone I'll leave right now, bu-...mmph!"_

Jamie grabs him by the front of his hoodie and presses his lips against his. He shivers involuntarily, but it's not really a bad feeling. He pulls back, licking slightly chapped lips and gauges Jack's reaction.

He still has his mouth halfway open, and his eyes are as wide as discs. They're the bluest eyes Jamie's ever seen in his life.

_"Oh..." _Jack exhales. _"Oh, okay...so, does that mean I can stay?"_

_"Yes." _Jamie says, just as breathless. _"But I'm still mad at you."_


End file.
